Compositing – The Businessman – From Drawing to the Film

A cool commercial in the style of forties comic strips promotes the digital signage system Local-Monitor. The particular are the animated panels in the comic page. The following blog shows the creation of the film. From the idea through the compositing to the final film.

Finding Ideas

The detective Philip Marlowe is a fictional character of Raymon Chandler from the forties. In our commercial he plays a problem solver. Instead of a real film, we are presenting Marlowe in a comic style.

Drawing for the Businessman Comic
Marlowe is sitting at the table with a cigarete in his hand.
Colorized Photoshop Drawing for the Businessman Comic
The drawing is scanned into the computer, drawn in photoshop and colored.

Drafts

The story is developed with a rough storyboard. Suitable to the text 7 camera shot are specifed by the director. Based on the storyboard the graphic artist drew freehand sketches. Those sketches are transferred into Photoshop and then colorized.

Drawing – Marlowe is sitting at the desk
Marlowe is sitting at the desk. His shoes are on the table with a cigarete in his hand.
Colorized Photoshop Drawing with Background
Marlowe is sitting at the desk. In the background is a window. A shadow is added.

In one scene Marlowe sits at the desk smoking, putting up his feet on the table. In the background is a window with blinds. The dramatic shadows are created in Photoshop. The basis is the freehand sketch.

Compositing Layers in the 3D space of After Effects
In the compositing the Photoshop layers are positioned in 3D to create a depth.

Compositing – Breaking down the Layers

The photoshop drawing is seperated in different layers. The layers are imported into After Effects to create an animation. The layers: Background – window, foreground – desk. The Layers of Marlowe are: Torso, arms, legs and shoes. The blinds at the window and the desk are created with 3D-object layers. With a 3D light the layers are casting a shadow.

 

Finished Compositing with Shallow Depth of Field Effect
The filmic depth of field creates a more realistic look for the spot.

In the finished animation smoke is rising. The fingers are moving slightly. The shallow depth of field is creating a filmic look. The virtual camera is animated as well. Like a dolly the camera is moving from the right to the left.

 

Compositing Comic Book Front Page
Comic strip front page of the compositing animation.
Compositing Comic Inner Page
The settings are composited into a comic page. Speech bubbles tell the story of the entrepreneur.

The Comic Book Look

The final Spot begins with the opening of the first page like reading a comic book. The animated compositings are put into the panels. The camera flies over the panels. Speaking bubbles are telling the story of the businessman.

 

At the end a suitable music is composed and background noise is added. A narrator tells the story:
A businessman has problems with the sales of his business. He tried everything in classic advertising and print. Marlowe realizes the potential of digital signage advertising at public places.

The Final Compositing Video (with english subtitles)

Credits

The story was conceived by Dirk Jacobs (3Base). Michael Großmann (UNEM) determined the camera shots, directed it and composed the music. The freehand drawings and the Photoshop files are from Holger Schmidt. The compositing animations are from Helmut Schnock (UNEM). Narrator is Christoph Schwegler.
To the Homepage of the ad agency 3Base.